Tractor operated crane



Dec; 12, 1939. R. G. LE TOURNEAU 2,183,263

TRACTOR OPERATED CRANE Filed June 28,- 1938 I 2 Shets-Sheet 1- INVENTOR R. GLeTowrneaw BY Qk gsuas;

ATTORNEY .Dec. 12, 1939. 3, LE TQURNEAU 2,183,263

TRACTOR OPERATED CRANE Filed June 28, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet '2 m INVENTOR R. G.Le2bur1zead ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 12, 19 39 UNITE!) STATES PATENT OFFlCE moron ornaa'rnn cam Robert G. n Tourneau, Peoria, m, assignor to B. G. Le Tourneau, Inc., acorporation of California Application June 28', 1938, Serial No. 216,258

4 Claims. (01. 212-68) This invention relates to portable tractor drawn cranes, and particularly represents improvements over the crane shown in my Patent No. 2,078,393 dated April 27, 1937.

Inthe previous crane, the boom was fixed rigid I somewhat with the mobility of the crane, and

sometimes prevented its full possible efliciency being utilized.

It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide a crane of the same general character as that above identified, but in which the boom is mounted for horizontal movement on its supporting frame,and having a tractor operated mechanism for thus swinging the boom without any tractor movement being necessary.

In this manner, the crane may be used to pick structure and relative arrangement o'i' parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

' In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved crane.

Figure 2 is an tudinal section of. the crane.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the supporting structure of the crane comprises a hollow horizontal box-like bed I supported on opposite sides by a pair of wheels 2 and provided with a rigid hollow tongue, 3. This tongue at its rear end alines and communicates with the interior of the bed and at its forward end is adapted for swivel connection withthe draft clevis l of a tractor in the same manner as the previous crane.

Superimposed on thebed I and enclosed about its periphery by a circular flange 5 upstanding from theframe is a turntable 6. This is protractor and crane. of the telescoping shaft unit and universal joints,

enlarged fragmentary longi wardly opening channel 8 about its periphery and mounted in said channel are taper rollers 9 radial with the turntable and riding on a circular track Illon'the bed I.

The turntable on the bottom-is provided with 6 a spur gear I I concentric with the king pin. This is engaged by a pinion l2 fixed on a depending shaftl3 journaled in the bed, the axis of said shaft lying in a radial plane projected from the king pin centrally of the width of the tongue 3. 10

A bevel gear i4 is secured on the lower end of the shaft I3, which is engaged by a bevel pinion l5 journaled in the bed and whose axis lies in versal joint 16 with another shaft II also'lying in said radial plane and which projects through the tongue with an upward slope to a termination above the tongue, being engaged by a hearing l8 fixed on the tongue adjacent the point of 20 emergence of the shaft therefrom.

A telescoping shaft un'it I9 is interposed between shaft I! and a drive shaft 20 mounted on and driven under the control of the tractor operator by the, tractor mechanism (or the power unit 25 thereon) in any suitable manner. The shaft unit 89 is connected to the shafts H and it by universal joints 2| ;-the front joint being relatively close to the vertical plane of th draft clevis.

It willthus be seen that the turntable may be 30 rotated 'from the tractor without any movement of the tractor or crane bed being necessary, and irrespective of the relative alinement of the This is because of the use which also of course enable the tractor to be steered relative to the crane without restraint.

A boom 22, preferably of the same configuration as that shown in said' patent, is pivotally mounted .on the turntable adjacent its periphery 40 as at 23. Mounted on the turntable at a point diametrallympposed to the boom is a standard 26 which supports a vertical series of fairlead sheaves 25. These receive the boom hoist and load lift cables 26 and El respectively, from the power unit on the tractor and pass said lines to the proper members at the top of the boom. The lowest fairlead unit 25a of the series engage a drag cable 28 leading from the power unit, and which extends from the fairlead to and about another fairlead unit 29 mounted on the boom adjacent its lower end.

By means of this arrangement, a load may b pulled from a relatively remote point to a position within range of the boom lift hook without moving the crane from a predetermined set position. The boom may be raised to a substantially vertical position, and to limit its raising movement I provide a crossbar 30 on the front side of the boom near its base, adapted to engage lugs 3i projecting rearwardly from a crossbeam 32 connecting the diagonal arms 33 which depend rearwardly from and brace the standard 24.

From the foregoing description itwill be readily seen that I have produced such a deviceas substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein,

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, asdefined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A portable crane comprising a wheel supported bed, a tongue rigid with said bed, means on the front end of the tongue to provide for draft connection with .a tractor, the bed and tongue being hollow and the latter projecting from the front side of the bed in communication with the hollow area thereof, a boom supporting turntable mounted on the bed, a gear fixed with the turntable on the under side of the same concentric with the axis thereof, a pinion engaging the gear'and journaled in the hollow bed, a drive shaft operatively connected to said pinion within the bed and extendinl thence along and in the tongue with an upward slope to a forward termination on the outside of the same and drive means applied to the forward end of the shaft and operable from the tractor.

2. A crane comprising a supporting bed, a turntable mountedthereon, a boom pivoted on the turntable to one side of the axis thereoffor raising and lowering movement, a rigid standard on the turntable on the opposite side of said axis from the boom, separate boom and load control' cables extending to the top thereof and a pair of fairlead sheaves on the standard for each cable about which the cables pass ahead of their connectlon with the boom, the lead-in sheave of each pair being hung for swivel movement in a horizontal plane.

3. A structure as in claim 2 in which the pairs of sheaves are disposed in vertically spaced relation on the standard.

4. A crane comprising a hollow bed, a boomsupporting turntable on the bed, a gear on the bottom of the bed concentric with the turntable, a pinion engaging the gear, a depending shaft on the pinion journaled in the bed, drive gearing connected to the shaft within the bed, a

drive shaft projecting from the gearing radially of the turntable, means supporting the turntable from the bed radially out from the gear, and a guard flange upstanding from the bed radially out from the supporting means and overhanging the periphery of the turntable. a

' ROBERT G. LE 'TQURNEAU. 

